Silicon Valley's major tech companies were the first US employers to take their operations online because of the coronavirus. As the rest of the country prepares to follow their lead, Wall Street Journal reporter Rob Copeland joins to explain how they did it - and how we can avoid their mistakes. And senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern gives her best work-from-home tech tips. Kateri Jochum hosts.

In today's business headlines: - The Rand and stock market in South Africa tumbled again yesterday with the currency sinking to a four-year low, while stocks dropped to 2013 levels and bond yields spiked. Platinum miners were the worst hit; - Wage increases for South Africa’s 1.3 million civil servants are going to be scrapped despite an increase that was previously agreed for the beginning of April, setting the government up for a confrontation with unions; - The Consumer Goods Council has called on all South Africans to stop panic buying with the council's Patricia Pillay ensuring consumers that South Africa will not run out of goods; - Political parties in South Africa, the ANC, Democratic Alliance, Economic Freedom Fighters, IFP and ACDP showed a rare sign of unity yesterday as they agreed to a joint national and non-partisan response to the coronavirus; and - SA Express has suspended all flights until further notice. The airline said it would accommodate customers on alternative flights and non-critical staff would go on compulsory leave.

In this special podcast, OrbVest CEO Martin Freeman explains why the company is thriving in the current environment. While valuations in most other sectors have tanked, the slice where OrbVest focuses - medical sector properties in the USA - is shrugging off a coronavirus-induced economic recession. OrbVest has actually experienced strong demand from protection-seeking investors and is poised to launch another opportunity, this time in the bomb-proof medical rehabilitation niche.

The Neuroscience Institute in Cape Town linked to Groote Schuur Hospital that secured a place in history with the world’s first heart transplant is a forward thinking institute aimed at ensuring that science in Africa does not get left behind and is adapted to suit the continent. It is a field not known to be populated by women and in particular black women. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women as girls are less likely than boys to choose STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematic) subjects. Alec Hogg chatted to Dr Ursula Rohlwink and Dr Rachael Dangarembizi at the institute who are eager to push neuroscience forward and to increase understanding of the brain. Well, we all know that brain surgeons are put in the same category as rock scientists at the top of the intelligence tree and he found they were no ordinary scientists. – Linda van Tilburg

The South African Parliament is the last place that you would regard as a bastion of decorum and unity with constant bickering and interruptions, with the EFF using it as a platform for grandstanding. Many South Africans also appeared to have adopted the 'everyone for himself' attitude as people stockpiled on essentials in the last couple of days with supermarkets unable to keep up. But the outbreak of the coronavirus has resulted in an unusual display of unity in Parliament as South Africa is facing what President Cyril Ramaphosa described as 'the worst challenge of this generation with the coronavirus outbreak'. At a meeting at Tuynhuis in Cape Town the leaders of the Democratic Alliance, Economic Freedom Fighters, Freedom Front Plus and the African Christian Democratic Party pledged their support for the government's national state of disaster. - Linda van Tilburg

Pharmaceutical companies are rushing to find drugs that can treat people infected with the coronavirus. The Wall Street Jounral's Joseph Walker explains which treatments are furthest along, and Dr. Andre Kalil, a researcher running one of the drug trials, talks about what's at stake.

In today's headlines: * A rush by worried South African shoppers to stock up on food and vital supplies spurred sharp gains in Johannesburg retail stocks Tuesday, after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national disaster because of the coronavirus outbreak; * Eric Yuan, the founder of Zoom Video Communications, has added $2bn to his net worth in 2020, the fourth-biggest increase in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. After starting the year unranked, he’s now at No. 274 on the list with a $5.6bn fortune; * The price of steel reinforcement bar, the somewhat unglamorous but ubiquitous commodity used to strengthen concrete, has risen almost 5% over the past month in Shanghai on expectations that the Chinese government will stimulate the economy with infrastructure spend; * Central bankers in five key sub-Saharan African countries will meet on interest rates in the next 10 days as the focus turns to them for measures to shore up their economies that are expected to be hit by the novel coronavirus; and * Zimbabwe and Namibia declared national emergencies on Tuesday as the coronavirus begins to spread in the region.

In this special podcast, Dr Claudius van Wyk, a globally acknowledged expert in holism uses the philosophy to recommend the best way to address the Coronavirus. He revisits principles pioneered by the late polymath, SA prime minister and Oxford University chancellor, Field Marshall Jan Christiaan Smuts, to suggest ways of building immunity against the disease - through applying physical, psychological and social tools. UK-based Van Wyk, who is also a devotee in the developing science of psychoneuroimmunity, praises the bold steps taken by SA president Cyril Ramaphosa, which were in stark contrast to the confusing messages from most countries elsewhere, including Great Britain. In this podcast, Van Wyk offers some practical advice for the fearful - and invites members of the Biznews Community to attend a free webinar he'll be hosting on Friday at 2:15 SA time (email him on etgroup@gmail.com for registration details)

Over the past month and a half we've had a couple of fascinating interviews with Durban teachers Gary and Andy Cronje while they were in the heart of Coronavirusland. Getting home - on their own steam - was quite a challenge, but they did so primarily for economic reasons as schools were closed and Chinese employers apply a strict no work, no pay policy. Now in Johannesburg and self-imposed isolation until the end of the month, it may surprise you that they're itching to get back to China. Here's the full discussion with the duo drawn from the latest episode of Rational Radio.

In a refreshingly frank discussion from this week's Rational Radio, Old Mutual's Andrew McPherson recounts his movements ahead of contracting Coronavirus, and how his life has changed since he tested positive. The head of Balance Sheet Management at the large financial institution strongly supports president Cyril Ramaphosa's drastic steps to slow down infections, but believes South Africans have taken too long to absorb the seriousness of the disease. Now in self-isolation, McPherson shares some distressing personal experiences since arriving back home from a skiing trip and offers some useful suggestions for a nation that is struggling to separate fake news from fact.

In today's news headlines: * South Africa’s benchmark stock index plummeted the most on record after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s declaration of a national state of disaster over the coronavirus outbreak stoked investor concern about its impact on an already fragile economy; * The SA economy is set to shrink to shrink. Already beleaguered tourism companies and exporters are among those whose survival is on the line, reports Bloomberg; * World economies are facing their biggest challenge since the great recession, warn economists, with airlines set to go bust by the end of May unless governments intervene; * Naspers lost about 13% on the JSE, as stocks plunged on Monday; * South African hotel and casino operator Sun International is already handling cancellation of conference bookings and events by clients, CEO Anthony Leeming said on Monday, as companies rush to contain the spread of the coronavirus; and * More than 80 Domino's Pizza outlets will be closed after its holding company failed to find a buyer.

On another day when share prices on the JSE took a pummelling and panicking South Africans emptied shop shelves, SA's favourite market commentator David Shapiro applies his mind to the root cause, the ever spreading Coronavirus. His conclusion: the world has gone mad, with people dumping assets as though Armageddon had arrived. Fear has replaced whatever sanity was left last week's turbulence. Shapiro's message: this too shall pass - but exactly, when remains an open question.

A focus on Coronavirus in this week's episode of Rational Radio as market commentator David Shapiro shares his thoughts on the latest developments and we also chat to Old Mutual exec Andrew McPherson who has tested positive for COVID-19 and our regular correspondents, previously China-based teachers Andy and Gary Cronje, who returned home to SA last weekend. Also in this week's episode, chartered accountant John Frith's long but eventually successful struggle against systemic overcharging of Estate Duty by executors based on a mistaken calculation by the country's tax guru. Also in the show, an interview with Mitch Adams, co-founder of five year old SA fintech startup Ozow, which applies risk management to massively reduce online payment settlement time.

In today's business headlines: - The government has announced strict measures including travel bans, school closures and a ban on large gatherings to combat the spread of the coronavirus in South Africa. It comes as the official figure of positive cases rose to 61; - Cosatu has called on the private sector to help to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on the economy. with payment holidays and reduced interest rates; - Sasol will hold a call with investors tomorrow to explain the measures it’s proposing after its shares price slumped 68% in the past week; and - The Rand weakness and oil war between Russia and Saudi Arabia is expected to lead to a fuel prize bonanza for South African consumers with large reductions in fuel prices expected at the end of this month.

The measures announced tonight by President Cyril Ramaphosa include travel bans on foreign nationals to South Africa from several countries, and a ban on travel to the EU, US, UK, China, Iran and South Korea. 35 of the countries land ports will be shut from tomorrow and non-essential domestic travel will also be curtailed. To encourage 'social distancing', gatherings of more than 100 people will be prohibited. Schools will also be closed from Wednesday 18th of March. He said South Africa has not been confronted by a situation of this severity before.

It took a year and a half to close the loop on my Yabonga experience - but as you'll hear in this absorbing podcast, it was worth the wait. After a London interview in November 2018 with Ursel Barnes, co-founder of this extraordinary organisation, she offered to show me what happens on the ground. That happened last week when she and husband David took us to see a couple of Yabonga's operations in Khayelitsha, township of a million souls established during apartheid to serve the city of Cape Town. Ursel and Ulpha Robertson started Yabonga in 1998 to establish after-school safe houses for HIV-affected township children. Twenty two years later, their creation provides a daily refuge for 1,200 vulnerable children, and has helped literally hundreds graduate into contributing members of society. This inspirational podcast opens a window into their world. - Alec Hogg

While the coronavirus can take credit for much of the volatility we’ve experienced on the markets lately, it’s not the only issue. For years, the steady rise of passive investing may have been creating unexpected and important financial market vulnerabilities. In this podcast, featuring content from the Bloomberg Odd Lots podcast, we take a dive into how passive money has been fuelling the spike in technology stock prices and why that’s a real problem for markets. Even though passive investing is the best strategy for most investors, added up, passive money may be undoing the rationale for the stock markets themselves.

Although he spent years at the top of SA's financial services tree, co-founder of the mighty Coronation David Barnes always let others do the public stuff. So this is a rare interview, only the second with Barnes in more than two decades of engagement. In it he shares a deeply personal journey of how surviving a brain tumour sparked the creation of Africa's first Neuroscience Institute at his alma mater, the University of Cape Town. Housed in a previously derelict building in the world famous Groote Schuur hospital precinct, the Institute is a multi-disciplinary body which will address uniquely African challenges. It will also serving as a home for many of the continent's brightest medical minds, who have traditionally been forced to pursue their careers elsewhere. As you'll hear in the podcast, for Barnes this is an expression of gratitude and a way to pass it forward. One sure to serve generations of future Africans. - Alec Hogg

The World Health Organisation has made it official: The new coronavirus is a global pandemic. The Wall Street Journal's Brianna Abbott, Margherita Stancati, and Ben Cohen explain why the crisis is escalating and how it's rippling through the world.

In today's news headlines: * The Johannesburg Stock Exchange lost almost 10% of its value, the worst crash since 1997; * Sasol has indicated that it would consider raising funds by selling additional shares and disposing of more assets amid growing concerns about its debt levels after the disastrous events of the past week which included a crash in the oil price; * The Mpati commission into the governance of the Public Investment Corporation has concluded that there had been substantial impropriety at the PIC which manages R2.13trn of state-employee pension funds; and * South African Airways may be an unlikely beneficiary of the coronavirus; * The 122 South Africans stuck in the Wuhan province in China, where the coronavirus first broke out, will be flown home today by the South African National Defence Force.

President Donald Trump announced a temporary ban on some travel from Europe into the US, along with economic stimulus measures. From Europe, Noemie Bisserbe, Bojan Pancevski, and Margherita Stancati. Plus, the NBA suspends its season after a player tests positive for the coronavirus, and Tom Hanks and his wife are infected with the virus. The Wall Street Journal's Annmarie Fertoli reports.

In today's business headlines: - South African business sentiment plunged to the lowest level in more than two decades in the first quarter and could weaken even further as the coronavirus hits the domestic and global economy; - It has been a week of steep drops for some emerging-market stocks, but Sasol has out-plunged its peers battered by a crash in the oil price and concern among investors of a potential looming rights offer; shares traded more than 26% lower yesterday on the JSE; - FlySafair has expressed interest in buying Mango, the low cost airline of South African Airways should it be put up for sale and says it will announce a new Johannesburg-Durban service next week; - South African regulators are stepping up efforts to break the oligopoly of the country’s top auditing firms after accounting scandals involving two of the Big Four failed to do the job for them; and - Tesla briefly passed Boeing as the most valuable industrial company in the US closing a gap that was almost $200bn a year ago.

Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, Chief Clinical Officer at Providence St. Joseph Health, discusses efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak in the US which she says are being hampered by a lack of testing kits. Bloomberg News Technology Reporter Gerrit De Vynck explains how Google is blocking coronavirus ads and is pulling YouTube videos claiming cures. Bloomberg Businessweek Editor Joel Weber and Bloomberg News P&I Reporter Peter Robison talk about how Seattle's patient zero spread the coronavirus despite being in lockdown. Stewart Glickman, Energy Analyst at CFRA Research, discusses what's making energy investors scream. And we Drive to the Close with Peter Tchir, Head of Macro Strategy at Academy Securities.

In today's news headlines: * The Assore share price shot up more than 80% after the company, on the JSE since 1950, announced a share buy-back with a view to delisting the company; * Sasol continued plummeting, shedding more than 13% of its value on the JSE; * South Africa has virtually no oil production, so oil’s decline provides a rare measure of relief for an economy that slumped into a recession in the fourth quarter, reports Bloomberg; * South African President Cyril Ramaphosa notched up a key victory in his long-running battle with the nation’s controversial anti-graft ombudsman, when the High Court overturned her finding that he’d misled lawmakers about a campaign donation, says Bloomberg; * Harvard is asking students not to return to campus after its spring break amid coronavirus concerns and is going online; and * Italy is considering unprecedented steps to inject money into companies and ease family debt burdens.

Some of the highest paid employees are to be found in South Africa's asset management companies. The most talented investment professionals are routinely poached by competitors in a dog-eat-dog industry that sells the skills of its rock star fund managers. For Hlelo Giyose,  Chief Investment Officer and Principal at First Avenue Investment Management, the long-term benefits for an emerging asset manager come from individuals who are passionate about what they do and are prepared to work according to the requirements of the company. The established investment specialists who are headhunted tend to disappoint, he tells BizNews founder and editor-in-chief Alec Hogg in this podcast. - Jackie Cameron